Becoming a family is a process – even when you are born to it. You get to know each other, you grow and change, you learn to embrace that change (or not), you choose your battles, you are there for each other, you make it through the hard times — and there are hard times — and then you look up one day and realise that you are laughing together again.

This can happen within the family you are born to, with your life partner, with or without children, with friends you choose and find yourself knowing for decades. The people you share this kind of time with will enrich your life. These people challenge us — they see what we might try to hide — and they support us when we feel raw and vulnerable. These are also the people we want to celebrate with, share our joy and triumphs with.